


Not A Fish

by Bellflower



Category: Samurai Warriors (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, Draws from the third mainline game's portrayals, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24899278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellflower/pseuds/Bellflower
Summary: The moment pressure had started being applied to him 'taking it to the next level' he'd point blank stopped talking to those involved and walked away.Motochika refused to be a fish anymore. Instead he took on an insult thrown his way after a second failed attempt at persuasion and decided that was what he'd be instead.
Relationships: Akechi Mitsuhide/Chousokabe Motochika
Kudos: 9
Collections: Trope Bingo: Round Fourteen





	Not A Fish

**Author's Note:**

> For the 'sports AU' prompt... about a potential star rejecting his part in a sports AU. It could only be Motochika.

Some people called Motochika a fish.

They had good reason to, really. The man cut through the water like he was born of the sea; since childhood he'd been an absolute natural in the water and years of time spent in there for both trained purpose and simple pleasure had given him exactly the right kind of body to make him swifter and stronger a swimmer still. Encouraged to compete in the sport, Motochika had won countless contests, owned a shimmering wall of medals and had been told point-blank he could go international and make a mark.

Exactly none of this had been done out of any sense of obligation, however. The reason he'd agreed was, well, because _he_ wanted to and enjoyed the competition. It was an extra joy to take alongside his love of being in water. The moment pressure had started being applied to him 'taking it to the next level' he'd point blank stopped talking to those involved and walked away. 

Motochika refused to be a fish anymore. Instead he took on an insult thrown his way after a second failed attempt at persuasion and decided that was what he'd be instead.

“A... bat?” Mitsuhide quirked an elegant eyebrow and looked down, idly swirling a foot in the water. “I can't say I understand why you like that so much, Motochika.”

A fine view to behold; Motochika smirked as he looked up at from the sea surface, gaze sweeping up and along Mitsuhide's half-bare legs. It was a good day at a fine, secluded beach, far away from the pushy figures in his life and in the company of only this one precious friend... who _did_ , admittedly, question some of Motochika's actions out of concern but never made any demands of him. A day like this, in the company of someone so special, spent immersed in water where he could be himself and do what he wanted? Motochika's idea of bliss. 

“If they want to label me a bat then I'll take it and fly,” he said, shifting to float on his back and spreading his arms wide. “Do you disapprove, Mitsuhide?”

“No.” Mitsuhide shook his head; his exceptionally long hair was tied back today into a high bun today but a few locks had already broken free, with the motion sending another ebony strand down his front. “I might not understand much of what you do, but... well, if you're happy and unhurt, I won't complain.”

“And what of my choice? What would you do, given that chance?”

“For myself, I can't say. I think _you_ would do very well competing on the world's stage and capture the attention of many, and that you would enjoy it in many ways, but I also think I can guess a little, at least, about why you're rejecting it.”

“Do you?”

“You've always pushed back when others try to tell you what to do.” Mitsuhide smiled fondly. “Not always sensibly, but... Motochika isn't Motochika if he isn't rebelling.”

“Didn't you just say you don't understand much of what I do?”

“Oh, I did... I'm sorry. But I don't think anyone needs to understand you well to see that part of your soul.”

That mention of 'soul' made Motochika's heart soften, gentle affection for this man spreading through his chest. It wasn't a word that Mitsuhide had used much when they'd first met, only slipping into his vocabulary after several years of intense, close friendship had resulted in understated mirroring that others might not notice so easily. Motochika was _very_ fond of the word, weaving it into his everyday conversation and occasionally overblown metaphors quite naturally whilst ignoring the strange looks it sometimes earned him, so hearing Mitsuhide say it as a result of their bond gave Motochika a rush akin to the feeling of hitting the pool's edge as victor of a race.

(And those moments themselves were enhanced by his friend, his beloved, being there almost every time in the stands, as excited for the victory as the bat who had snatched it from fish trailing behind).

“Very good,” he murmured, looking up at his favoured vision for just long enough that Mitsuhide began to blush, before twisting onto his front and diving beneath the surface. 

Many people, perhaps even most, would look at someone rejecting a 'potentially Olympic-level opportunity' as unbelievable and ridiculous. Look at Motochika's love of the water, how much he enjoyed each win, how natural everything about the story was and call him a fool for turning away from the offered laurels. Mitsuhide claimed he didn't understand most of Motochika and yet showed time and time again that, at heart, he actually _did_... and best of all was sticking with and supporting the choices Motochika made.

Motochika didn't need anyone to do so that for him, he would have done the same again and again even if it left him on his own. But he liked, loved, adored that that he didn't have to be.

So why wouldn't he be satisfied with his choice? 

Fish swam past his face as he reached the sandy ocean floor, an easy achievement in these shallow waters. Their 'former brother' touched the sand, ran his fingers through it, lingering for a short time in the pleasure born from being submerged like this. An excellent swimmer, a potential champion of the pool? He was, yes, but the best part of his gift was just how long he could hold his breath in the water; the most refreshing kind of water was found in natural lakes and oceans, and that was where he liked to dive. 

Somewhere above was a faint sound that might have been a loud shout, were it heard in the air, followed by a splash. Apparently that 'short time' had been longer than Motochika had thought... he grinned to himself as he turned and shot upwards, grasping onto Mitsuhide as he approached the surface.

“Brave, Mitsuhide!” Motochika laughed heartily once they had their breaths back, supporting his unnerved friend's efforts to climb back onto the rocks as he did so. “I should have known your rebellious soul would draw you in eventually!”

“Y-you were... down there for so _long_!” Mitsuhide cast him a mildly irritated look once he'd scrambled up, chest rising and falling rapidly from, no doubt, the panic. “You're not so much a fish that you can't drown!”

“I'm a bat now, remember?”

“A bat can _definitely_ drown!”

As it turned out, Mitsuhide didn't understand him completely. If he did he would have known that there was nothing to be concerned about... but Mitsuhide wouldn't be Mitsuhide if he didn't worry overly much, and it didn't take away anything from that which flowed between them. Motochika looked over his scowling love, admired the now-wild black hair plastered to the elegant body, and knew for sure that becoming a bat was the right choice. He had all the joy he could want and need. Maybe one day he'd go and reach the heights he knew he was capable of, but only when _he_ wanted to.

When it was his choice, and his alone.


End file.
